Key concedes TPPA is dead for now

‘While opponents of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Agreement (TPPA) will welcome its likely demise, we would
prefer our governments had rejected the deal as bad for
their peoples. Instead, it is likely to be sunk by a new US
president whose racism, sexism, tax avoidance and defence of
fossil fuels are anathema and will be a barrier to achieving
progressive alternatives’, says University of Auckland law
Professor Jane Kelsey, who has helped lead opposition to the
TPPA internationally.

‘Behind that vote is a
backlash against these kinds of deals from ordinary people
who feel alienated and disempowered, just as we saw with
Brexit. That aspect of the Trump victory needs to be
listened to by our government and others who have pushed the
TPPA and similar deals, including the ongoing negotiations
for the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA)’.

‘Clearly the Prime Minister has been talking to people
in Washington and has written off the prospects of the TPPA
happening “in the short term”.’

‘This was
not how it was meant to play out’. According to Professor
Kelsey, ‘the Obama administration had everything ready to
roll to put the implementing legislation for the TPPA to a
vote in the next few weeks during the lame duck period of
Congress, and seemed unconcerned that passing such a
momentous law by one or two votes in the current climate
would further undermine the legitimacy of such deals.
‘

She suggests ‘it is still possible they would
try. But to do so in the face of the landslide vote for
Trump, and for enough Republicans to endorse the
legislation, would be hugely provocative when the talk is of
healing and unity.’

Even if Congress did pass the
legislation there are further steps in the ratification
process before the TPPA could come into force and those
would require Trump’s willingness to proceed.

All
the other participating countries, except New Zealand and
Japan, have waited to see what happened in the US before
adopting their own implementing legislation. The lower house
of the Japanese Diet is about to vote, but the bill still
has to go through the upper house.

‘Here, the
National government cast prudence aside and pushed through
the implementing legislation, which may have its final
reading in Parliament today’, said Professor Kelsey.

‘I presume it has also been making invisible changes
to policies, practices and administration, for example for
Pharmac, that don’t require legislation. We know that US
officials have been telling our government what they
consider we need to do.’

‘For our government
pass the legislation and make other changes, when no other
TPPA country has done so, makes New Zealand look out of
touch and desperate. Given the Prime Minister’s
concession, the government should withdraw the legislation
and reverse all the other changes it has been making to
implement a deal that is unlikely come into force. It is
time we took on board the message from the US and UK, and
had a real debate about the kinds of international
agreements that are genuinely good for our future.’

In response to the challenges facing Scoop and the media industry we’ve instituted an Ethical Paywall to keep the news freely available to the public.
People who use Scoop for work need to be licensed through a ScoopPro subscription under this model, they also get access to exclusive news tools.

A State Services Commission investigation into the use of external security consultants by government agencies has uncovered failings across the public service, including breaches of the code of conduct...

However, the inquiry found no evidence of widespread inappropriate surveillance by external security consultants on behalf of government agencies. More>>

...It represents a cross-party commitment to a fundamental shift of policy for our most disadvantaged children and should help undo 30 years of damage to children from our most vulnerable families. More>>

The referendum on cannabis for personal use is part of Labour's confidence and supply agreement with the Greens. It could be one of potentially three referenda - decisions have yet to be made about euthanasia and changes to electoral laws. More>>

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's final post-cabinet press conference of the year focussed on announcing the appointment of Helen Winkelmann as the next Chief Justice, and an update on effort to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis from New Zealand. More>>

In the 22 years since the Act came into force, it has become clear that the modern-day fingerprint analogy is increasingly inapt... Theoretically, whole genome sequencing could ultimately become the standard method of analysing a DNA sample. Such a development will give a new perspective on the concept of genetic surveillance in the criminal context. More>>